Harry Andrews, Actor, Dies at 77; In 'The Hill' and 50 Other Movies

By ANDREW L. YARROW

Published: March 8, 1989

Harry Andrews, a British film, stage and television actor, died Monday at his home in Salehurst, England. He was 77 years old.

Mr. Andrews appeared in scores of plays and more than 50 movies - including ''Entertaining Mr. Sloane,'' ''Moby Dick'' and ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' - during an acting career that spanned 56 years. He was particularly known for his portrayals of tough military officers in films like ''The Hill'' and ''The Battle of Britain.''

Mr. Andrews was born in Tonbridge, Kent, and made his stage debut in 1933 with the Liverpool Repertory Company. His first role in the West End in London was in 1936, and his Broadway debut came the next year in a production of ''Hamlet'' with John Gielgud. Joined the Old Vic

After serving as an artilleryman during World War II, he joined the Old Vic Company in London. During the late 1940's, he spent four seasons with the company, and also became a member of the Shakespeare Memorial Theater in Stratford-on-Avon.

Mr. Andrews toured with both companies, appearing in Broadway productions of ''Oedipus'' (1946) and ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (1951). His long involvement with Shakespearean theater included leading roles in productions of ''Julius Caesar,'' ''Henry IV,'' ''Hamlet,'' ''Othello'' and ''King Lear,'' as well as important secondary parts in many other plays.

After making his screen debut in 1952 in ''Black Knight'' with Alan Ladd, Mr. Andrews appeared in a series of historical and adventure films, including ''Alexander the Great,'' ''Solomon and Sheba,'' ''633 Squadron'' and ''Ice Cold in Alex.'' He turned increasingly to serious dramas and comedies during the 1960's and 1970's, appearing in such movies as ''The Jokers,'' ''The Night They Raided Minsky's,'' ''Wuthering Heights,'' ''The Ruling Class'' and ''The Blue Bird'' (1976), which was the first American-Soviet co-production. His Most Praised Work

Two of his most acclaimed performances were as a British army prison warden opposite Sean Connery in ''The Hill'' (1965), for which he was voted best supporting actor by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, and in the 1970 film version of Joe Orton's ''Entertaining Mr. Sloane.''

He once said that he was offered a Hollywood contract, but ''they wanted me to have my ears pinned back like Clark Gable and the gap filled in between my front teeth.''

''I wouldn't have minded that,'' he went on, ''but then they said the name was too plain and would have to go, and a bit of chin. So I said no.''

Mr. Andrews also acted in many British and American television series and dramas, including an episode of ''Dynasty'' and, most recently, played opposite Dame Wendy Hiller in ''All Passion Spent,'' a three-part series shown on public television in the United States in January on ''Masterpiece Theater.''